Combination door release and door check



1970 L. STRAUSS COMBINATION DOOR RELEASE AND DOOR CHECK Filed Jan. 23, 1969 lllllllb United States Patent 3,538,537 COMBINATION DOOR RELEASE AND DOOR CHECK Leopold Strauss, 14 Walnut Road, East Rockaway, NY. 11518 Filed Jan. 23, 1969, Ser. No. 793,343 Int. Cl. Ef 3/00 U.S. CI. 1666 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dashpot type door closer and door check having a latch means therewithin for maintaining the door in a fully open position and being easily releasable for allowing the door to close in a normal manner when desired.

This invention relates generally to a door movement apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for holding a door in a fully open position and also acting as a buffer when released from such an open position and in the process of closing.

In the new and old building constructions of today, it has become generally customary to use storm doors, screen doors and the like as auxiliary closures mounted outside the primary doors. A dashpot or tension spring or both is customarily used to return and close such an auxiliary closure with controlled velocity after it has been released by the user. Although such means are relatively practical and economical they fail to maintain the auxiliary door in any position but closed, so that the user may be unable to control the door in open position and when closing, as when both arms are occupied, or when the user is in a wheelchair or the like, the spring or other closure means will exert a force to move the auxiliary closure to its closed position and interfere with the persons entry therethrough. Although the use of a dashpot lessens the return velocity of the closure as compared to that of a spring, the door is nevertheless moved into closed position in too short a period of time to permit unobstructed passage. Such a situation may prove hazardous especially to handicapped persons or one whose both hands are occupied.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for application to doors which will act as a door holder when desired, as well as a door check, that is, a buffer to close the door without any undue slamming, and a door closer.

Another object of the instant design is to provide a door holder capable of maintaining the door in a fully open position and which is conveniently and simply releasable upon only a slight motion of the door.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide such an apparatus which is simple in design, economical in manufacture and easy to install on auxiliary doors of conventional construction.

In summary, the invention comprises a conventional type dashpot combination door closer and door check having a hollow cylindrical tube closed at both ends with a slidable piston head maintained therewithin and a rod attached thereto and extending through one end of the tube. A star wheel in the shape of an oblique parallelogram with projections thereon is rotatably mounted within the piston head, and a bumper head, coil spring and rod are fixed within the tube at one end. The tube is provided with an elongated slot near the bumper head so that, as the door is moved from a closed to a completely open position, the latch moves toward the bumper head and makes contact therewith whereby the latch is rotated out of the piston head through the slot and in engagement therewith for holding the door in an openly held position. The bumper 'and coil spring act to protect the door 3,538,537 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 from being overstrained since continued extension of the piston rod will bring the piston head into contact with the bumper head and will accordingly compress the spring. Also, the bumper spring provides a feel or extra force to the person opening the door signalling that the latching operating position has been reached. In order to release the latch and close the door the user simply ajars the closure from its latched or hold position so that the latch once again made to contact the bumper head and further rotate out of engagement with the slot, whereafter a still further rotation of the latch will take place as the latch and its piston head move away from the bumper head with the latch contacting the edge of the slot.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an auxiliary closure door shown in its completely closed and open position;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view in cross-section of the door apparatus according to the present design;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5 through 9 are partial longitudinal side elevational views similar to FIG. 2 showing the door latch in various positions of rotation as the door is open and closed; and

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-A, 7-A of FIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a door 10 mounted for pivotal movement on a door jamb 11. A combination door check and door holder 12 is secured to the door 10 by means of a door bracket 13 in a manner so as to pivot on a pin 14, shown more clearly in FIG. 2. The opposite end of the door checker 12 is secured to the door jamb 11 by means of a jamb bracket 15 for pivotal movement about the pin 17. So far, the door check -12 is of a conventional design and is mounted in a normal manner such that further detailed description thereof is not believed necessary.

Turning now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a sectional longitudinal side view of the door check and it's mounting apparatus can be seen wherein a hollow, elongated cylindrical tube 18 is provided with a cylinder head 21 at one end and a plug 19 at its opposite end. The plug end of the tube is mounted within a bearing bracket 16 of conventional construction which in turn is rotatably mounted for movement within the jamb bracket 15 by means of a shaft or a pin member 17. The door 10 is urged from its fully open position, as shown in phantom in FIG. 1, to its closed position by means of a torsional closing spring 28 positioned concentric with the shaft 17 and extending between and through an arm of the bearing bracket 16 and a side wall of the jamb bracket 15. The dashpot or door check 12 contains a piston head 24 mounted for longitudinal sliding movement within the tube 18, a piston cup 25 of conventional design being secured to one end of the piston head. A rod member 23 is affixed to the piston leg 30 at one end and is extended through an aperture 22 to the outside of the tube 18 so that it may be pinned as at 14 to the door bracket 13.

The description of dashpot 12 has so far not departed significantly from such devices operating in a normal manner since the disclosed door check merely acts to buffer the closing of the door 10 as the piston head travels from its position at rest, shown in FIG. 2, to its position of contact with bumper head 25 and back again to its relaxed position taking in air through aperture 35 as the door opens and compressing it therethrough as the piston head 24 returns to its position, as shown in FIG. 2. Also, it should be recognized that a conventional adjusting plug 36 can be provided to regulate the buffering action of the dashpot in the usual manner and that the inclusion of a closing spring 28 serves as a means for continuously urging the door 10 toward its closed position.

However, in order to provide the door-operating apparatus with a means for holding the door in its fully open position, a latch 26 is provided within piston head 24 and is mounted for rotational movement about a pin 27, as clearly shown in FIG. 3. Also, an abutment or bumper head 29 is threaded to one end of a capped rod 32 which is inserted through a suitable aperture in the cylinder head 21 and a coil spring 31 is positioned concentric with the rod 32 between head 21 and head 29 so that when it is compressed, as is hereinafter described, the rod 32 will slide and extend out of the head 21. The tube 18 is also provided with an elongated slot 33 of a width suflicient to accommodate the latch 26, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7A.

When the door 10 is closed and the piston head 24 is in its relaxed position, as shown in FIG. 2, it may be pushed open, as shown in phantom in FIG. 1, whereupon the latch 26 and piston head 24 with its attached cup 25 will approach the bumper head 29, as clearly shown in FIG. 5. The latch 26 is in the shape of an oblique parallelogram with projections 26a provided, as shown, so that one of the flat edges 26c of the latch is always in sliding engagement with the inner wall of tube 18 as the latch approaches its position of FIG. 5. In this way, the latch is prevented from wobbling or partially rotating while it slides from its position of FIG. 2 to that of FIG. 5. When the door is fully opened, the projection 26a, as shown in FIG. 5, will begin to make contact with the bumper head 29 at the slanted surface 29a thereof which is merely a depression within the face of the bumper head. Accordingly, the latch 26 will begin to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as shown by the arrow arc in FIG. 5, and the slot 33 will permit the opposite projection 26a of the latch to extend therethrough, as clearly shown in FIG. 6. At this point, the end of piston head 24 will make contact with the flat face of bumper head 29 such that, upon a slight further opening of the door, the spring 31 will begin to compress allowing the person opening the door to sense the spring 31 compression and be assured that the latch 26 has rotated to its position, as shown in FIG. 6, sufiiciently through the slot 33. As the door is then released by the user allowing the closing spring to move the door in a closing direction, the piston head and latch will begin movement to the right, as shown in FIG. 7, and the projection 26a will become fully engaged with one edge of the slot 33. In this way, the door 10 is held in its open position since the projection 26a, in contact with the edge of slot 33, and the side 26b of the latch, in contact with the tube 18, will prevent return travel of the piston head to its relaxed position.

It should be recognized that, if the door is opened beyond its latch operating position, or wind or any other accidental force acts to continue door opening to an over travel position, this will cause compression of coil spring 31 and sliding movement of rod 32, as clearly shown in FIG. 6, thereby preventing any overstrain of the door itself as the piston head 24 continues tocontact the flat face of bumper head 29. In order to unlatch the door from its rigidly-held position of FIG. 7, the user slightly ajars the door to a more fully open position so that the piston head and latch will again begin to move to the left, as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings. Thereupon, the leg 26b of the latch will contact slanted surface 29a of the bumper head causing the latch to further rotate in a counterclockwise direction to a position where the fiat edge 26c thereof is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis f the tube 18. Again, the piston head 24 will make contact with the flat face of the bumper head 29, and any further movement of the door to a more than fully open position will signal the user that the latch is in the posi tion of FIG. 8 since any such further movement will begin to compress the spring 31. The user then merely releases the door so that the piston head will begin to travel toward its relaxed position of FIG. 2 and, as the leg 26b of the latch contacts the edge of the slot 33, as shown in FIG. 9, the latch 26 will complete its rotation and allow the piston head to complete its travel. As before, the fiat side 260 of the latch will make sliding contact with the interior of tube 18 while returning to its position of FIG. 2.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that an extremely simple and efficient latch means has been devised for a dashpot type combination door closer and door check in a manner which is convenient to operate and easy to manufacture and readily adaptable to any door of conventional construction. The door operating apparatus of the abovedescribed design not only urges the door to a buffered closing position but when desired permits the door to be latched in an open position and alternately released to its closed position by the user simply by ajarring the door to a further open position. This is done without the need for buttons or levers or without the use of any additional tools or separate latches or the like, but simply by means of a four point star latch wheel rotatably mounted within the piston head of the dashpot, a bumper means, and an elongated slot in the tube of the dashpot for allowing rotation of the latch through degrees, all of which is installed as a compact unit in an otherwise conventional door operating apparatus. Also, since the bumper means includes a coil spring and slidable rod as aforedescribed, overstrain of the door itself is prevented every time the door is opened beyond its fully open position, and the user feels the latching position of the door.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dashpot type door closing and door checking device comprising a first member pivotally mounted to a door jamb, a second member pivotally mounted to a door and slideable within said first member, latching means mounted in said second member, means for causing said latching means to engage with said first member in a first position to hold the door open, said means for causing engagement also causing disengagement of said latching means from said first member when said second member is moved to a second position, said engagement and disengagement means comprising an abutment for contacting said latching means in said first and second positions toward which said second member is moved.

2. In a dashpot type door closing and door checking device according to claim 1 wherein said latching means is shaped such that when said second member is sliding within said first member one side of said latching means is slideably guided by one side of said first member, and when said latching means contacts said abutment in said first position, said latching means is moved to a latch engaging position with said first member, and when said latching means contacts said abutment in said second position, said latching means is moved to a disengaged position with said first member.

3. In a dashpot type door closing and door checking device according to claim 2 wherein said first member comprises a hollow tube attached at one end to a pivot bracket, said tube having a longitudinal elongated slot in its tube wall near the end opposite said pivot bracket, said latching means being in the shape of an oblique parallelogram, whose sides are equidistant from its centroid, having projections at opposite obtuse corners thereof extending outwardl one of said projections making contact with said abutment in said first position, and the other of said projections engaging said slot for holding the door in its openly-held position.

4. In a dashpot type door closing and door checking device according to claim 3 wherein said second member comprises a piston head attached to a piston rod, said rod being keyed within said tube to prevent rotation and being slideable to extend out of one end of said first member, said latching means comprising a latch rotatably mounted in said piston head, the plane of said latch being coincident with the plane of said slot in said first member, and the axis of rotation of said latch being perpendicular to said plane.

5. In a dashpot type door closing and door checking device according to claim 4 wherein said abutment comprises a bumper head for contacting said latch when said rod is extended, and a compression spring, whereby said spring compresses as said latch and said piston head contacts said bumper head, thereby permitting the door to open beyond its latch operating position and simultaneously rotate said latch to a latched position and alternately to an unlatched position.

References Cited DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

